What better way to start the year than with the introduction of a hot new talent like director RyanCoogler, whose first feature, Fruitvale Station, won an audience award and the grand jury prize. The fest also saw RichardLinklater, JulieDelpy and EthanHawke reteam for Before Midnight.

The Artist, which launched in 2011 at Cannes, copped the best picture Oscar. And this year, the Croisette was crowded with best picture hopefuls. The Coenbrothers' Inside Llewyn Davis got the biggest boost with a Grand Prix win. The Great Gatsby had the honor of serving as the opening night curtain-raiser. Nebraska earned BruceDern acting honors, and All Is Lost, playing out of competition, received an ovation.

Venice, Telluride, Toronto Festival Trifecta

Suddenly, the pace accelerates: Bejeweled festivalgoers in Venice donned 3D glasses for the world premiere of Gravity, which since has gone on to gross $631 million worldwide, the biggest hit in the Oscar race. Philomena, starring JudiDench, had them reaching for their hankies. SteveMcQueen's 12 Years a Slave was a sensation at Telluride, which also unveiled the procedural Prisoners, with HughJackman and JakeGyllenhaal. And Toronto was jam-packed: JuliaRoberts was on hand for the star-studded premiere of August: Osage County; Dallas Buyers Club drew praise for the commitment of its stars MatthewMcConaughey and JaredLeto; Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom earned applause; Enough Said provoked laughter; and Rush gunned its engines.

The highbrow New York Film Festival lent its imprimatur to a trio of films: PaulGreengrass' Captain Phillips had pulses pounding as the opening night film. The centerpiece gala slot went to BenStiller's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which offered a fresh take on the classic short story by JamesThurber. And SpikeJonze'sHer, in which JoaquinPhoenix falls in love with his computer, served as the closing night attraction.

AFI Fest

Fittingly, since the movie depicts the 1964 premiere of Mary Poppins at Grauman's Chinese, Saving Mr. Banks was the opening night feature at that very same theater. The Hollywood-based film festival also showcased ScottCooper's Out of the Furnace, the tale of two brothers, Christian Bale and CaseyAffleck, defying fate, and PeterBerg's Lone Survivor, starring MarkWahlberg.

Late Surprises

Skipping all the hoopla -- and generating a lot of suspense -- a couple of films snuck in just under the wire. DavidO. Russell's American Hustle, an ode to '70s-era con men, hit the screening circuit just before Thanksgiving. And MartinScorsese's nearly three-hour The Wolf of Wall Street, which will hit theaters Dec. 25, waited until the holiday weekend before it started to unspool for various awards groups.

With so many quality films to choose from, the various critics groups could find little to agree on as they rushed to judgment. On Dec. 3, the New York Film Critics Circle gave its top award to American Hustle. The next day, the National Board of Review gave a big thumbs-up to Her. On Dec. 8, while the Boston Society of Film Critics and the New York Film Critics Online voted to reward 12 Years a Slave, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association ended up locked in a tie. And so it awarded best picture to Gravity, with its high-tech effects, and Her, which takes a slightly more cerebral approach to technology.